Method of processing gas phase molecules by gas-liquid contact

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method and more particularly to an array of nozzles configured to produce uniformly spaced flat liquid jets with reduced linear stability. An embodiment of the invention is directed towards a stability unit used with nozzles of a gas liquid contactor and/or an enhancer for stable jet formation, and more particularly to reducing the stability of liquid jets formed from nozzles of the gas liquid contactor. Another aspect of the invention relates to operating the apparatus at a condition that reduces the stability of liquid jets, e.g., a droplet generator apparatus. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to operation of the apparatus with an aqueous slurry. Still another aspect of the invention is directed towards to an apparatus for substantially separating at least two fluids.

APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF

This application claims the benefit of and is a divisional ofapplication Ser. No. 12/586,807, entitled “Gas liquid contactor andeffluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Sep. 28, 2009, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,113,491, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaningsystem and method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,866,638,which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/012,568,entitled “Two Phase Reactor,” filed on Feb. 4, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No.7,871,063, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/057,539, entitled “Two Phase Reactor,” filed on Feb. 14, 2005, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,379,487, and also claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/100,564, entitled “System for Gaseous PollutantRemoval,” filed on Sep. 26, 2008, U.S. Provisional Application No.61/100,606, entitled “Liquid-Gas Contactor System and Method,” filed onSep. 26, 2008, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/100,591, entitled“Liquid-Gas Contactor and Effluent Cleaning System and Method,” filed onSep. 26, 2008; all of which are herein incorporated by reference as ifset forth in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to an apparatus, and more particularlyto a stability unit and/or enhancer for increasing the stability ofliquid jets formed from nozzle plates in the apparatus. Another aspectof the invention relates to operating the apparatus at a condition thatreduces the stability of liquid jets, e.g., a droplet generatorapparatus. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to operation ofthe apparatus with an aqueous slurry.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

The absorption of a gas into a liquid is a key process step in a varietyof gas liquid contacting systems. Gas liquid contactors, also known asgas liquid reactors, can be classified into surface and volume reactorswhere the interfacial surface area between the two phases is created atthe liquid surface and within the bulk liquid, respectively. There aremany examples of surface gas liquid reactors such as rotating disks andliquid jet contactors. Rotating disk generators are disks (rotors)partially immersed in a liquid and exposed to a stream of gas. A thinfilm of liquid solution is formed on the rotor surface and is in contactwith a co-current reagent gas stream. The disk is rotated to refresh theliquid reagent contact with the gas. In a volume gas liquid reactor, thegas phase is dispersed as small bubbles into the bulk liquid. The gasbubbles can be spherical or irregular in shape and are introduced intothe liquid by gas spargers. The bubbles can be mechanically agitated toincrease the mass transfer.

In many gas liquid contacting systems, the rate of gas transport to theliquid phase is controlled by the liquid phase mass transfercoefficient, k, the interfacial surface area, A, and the concentrationgradient, delta C, between the bulk fluid and the gas liquid interface.A practical form for the rate of gas absorption into the liquid is then:Φ=φα=k _(G) a(p−p _(i))=k _(L) a(C_(L) *−C _(L))where the variable Φ is the rate of gas absorption per unit volume ofreactor (mole/(cm³s)); φ is the average rate of absorption per unitinterfacial area (mole/(cm²s)); a is the gas liquid interfacial area perunit volume (cm²/cm³, or cm⁻¹); p and p_(i) are the partial pressures(bar) of reagent gas in the bulk gas and at the interface, respectively;C_(L)* is the liquid side concentration (mole/cm³) that would be inequilibrium with the existing gas phase partial pressure, p_(i); C_(L)(mole/cm³) is the average concentration of dissolved gas in the bulkliquid; and k_(G) (mole/(cm²*s*bar)) and k_(L) (cm/s) are gas side andliquid side mass transfer coefficients, respectively.

In the related art, there are many approaches to maximizing the masstransfer and specific surface area in gas contactor systems. Theprincipal approaches include gas-sparger, wetted wall jet, and spray oratomization. The choice of gas liquid contactor is dependent on reactionconditions including gas/liquid flow, mass transfer, and the nature ofthe chemical reaction. Table 1 summarizes various mass transferperformance features of some related art gas liquid reactors. Tooptimize the gas absorption rate, the parameters k_(L), a, and(C_(L)*−C_(L)) must be maximized. In many gas liquid reaction systemsthe solubility of the C_(L)* is very low and control of theconcentration gradient, therefore, is limited. Thus, the primaryparameters to consider in designing an efficient gas liquid flow reactorare mass transfer and the interfacial surface area to reactor volumeratio, which is also known as the specific surface area.

TABLE 1 COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL GAS LIQUID REACTOR PERFORMANCE β (%,gas liquid k_(G) volumetric (mole/cm²s k_(L) k_(L)a flow rate atm)(cm/s) a (s⁻¹) Reactor Type ratio) ×10⁴ ×10² (cm⁻¹) ×10² Packed Column 2-25 0.03-2  0.4-2   0.1-3.5 0.04-7.0 (counter-current) Bubble Reactors60-98 0.5-2 1-4 0.5-6    0.5-24 Spray Columns  2-20 0.5-2 0.7-1.50.1-1   0.07-1.5 Plate Column 10-95 0.5-6  1-20 1-2  1-40 (Sieve Plate)

There are various gas liquid contacting reactors whose performance isdependent on interfacial contact area. For example, the chemical oxygeniodine laser (COIL) produces laser energy from a chemical fuelconsisting of chlorine gas (Cl₂) and basic hydrogen peroxide (BHP). Theproduct of this reaction is singlet delta oxygen, which powers the COIL.The present technology uses circular jets of liquid BHP mixed with Cl₂gas to produce the singlet delta oxygen. In a typical generator, thejets are on the order of 350 microns in diameter or smaller. To generatethe jets, the liquid BHP is pushed under pressure through a nozzle platecontaining a high density of holes. This produces a high interfacialsurface area for contacting the Cl₂ gas. The higher the surface area,the smaller the generator will be and the higher the yield of excitedoxygen that can be delivered to the laser cavity. Smaller and moredensely packed jets improve the specific surface area, but are prone toclogging and breakup. Clogging is a serious problem since the reactionbetween chlorine and basic hydrogen peroxide produces chlorine salts ofthe alkali metal hydroxide used to make the basic hydrogen peroxide.Clogging also limits the molarity range of the basic hydrogen peroxide,which reduces singlet oxygen yield and laser power. The heaviest elementof the COIL system is this chemical fuel. Problems inherent in producingthe fuel increase the weight and decrease the efficiency of the COILlaser as a whole. Thus, there exists a need for a COIL laser that hasincreased efficiency and lower weight than present designs.

In another example, gas liquid contactors are also used in aerobicfermentation processes. Oxygen is one of the most important reagents inaerobic fermentation. Its solubility in aqueous solutions is low but itsdemand is high to sustain culture growth. Commercial fermenters (>10,000L) use agitated bubble dispersion to enhance the volumetric masstransfer coefficient k_(La). The agitation helps move dissolved oxygenthrough the bulk fluid, breaks up bubble coalescence, and reduces theboundary layer surrounding the bubbles. The interfacial area in thesesystems is increased by increasing the number of bubbles in the reactorand reducing the size of the bubble diameter. However, oxygen masstransfer to the microorganism is still constrained by the relativelysmall interfacial surface area of the bubble and the short bubbleresidence times. Current sparger systems (bubble dispersion) show arelatively small volumetric mass transfer coefficient k_(La) (about0.2/s); therefore, a new approach for generating maximum interfacialsurface area is desired to overcome these mass transfer limitations.

In designing systems for industrial applications, consideration must begiven to both cost and efficiency. Conventional wisdom generallyprecludes that both can be optimally obtained simultaneously. In thecase of gas liquid contactors, the conventional wisdom is generallymaintained in industrial applications such as chemical processing,industrial biological applications, pollution control, or similarprocesses requiring reacting or dissolving a gas phase chemistry with aliquid phase in a dynamic flow system.

In the example of pollution control, the standard methodology ofremoving a target compound or compounds in a wet process is acountercurrent flow system utilizing fine droplets of liquid phasefalling through a flowing gas phase 180° in an opposite direction.Normally, gravity is used to draw the liquid phase to a capture sump atthe base of a column or tower. The gas phase flows up through the samecolumn or tower. This gas phase is then captured for further processingor released to the atmosphere.

In order to accommodate for larger scale chemical processes, the columnor tower must be scaled linearly with the size of the desired processeither by length or diameter. The current logical methodology is toincrease the scale of a single unit process since capital costs of asingle unit process generally do not scale linearly with size.

Another downside of standard countercurrent, gravitational oraerosol/droplet gas liquid contactors is that gas flows must be at a lowenough velocity such that gravity effects are greater than the buoyancyof the droplets. Regardless, significant evaporation of the liquidreactant generally does occur since contact times are long, requiringsignificant capture of that vapor prior to secondary processing orrelease.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the invention is directed to an apparatus and method thatsubstantially obviate one or more of the problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An advantage of the invention is to provide a stability unit to increasethe stability of jets formed from a nozzle plate.

Another advantage of the invention is to provide an enhancer to increasethe stability of jets formed from a nozzle plate.

In a preferred embodiment, it is beneficial to maximize the specificarea to increase contact time between the gas and liquid. This can beaccomplished by minimizing the jet-jet spacing, thus tightly packing thenozzles used to generate the liquid jets. In order to take advantage ofthe high jet density, aspects of the invention are directed toincreasing stability of jet formation.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the invention, as embodied and broadly described, an embodiment ofthe invention is directed towards a gas liquid contactor apparatusincluding a liquid inlet, a gas inlet, and a gas outlet. The apparatusalso includes a nozzle plate including an array of nozzles incommunication with the liquid inlet and the gas inlet. The nozzle plateincludes a stability unit coupled to the nozzle plate that is configuredto reduce instability of jets formed from the gas liquid contactor.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed towards a nozzle platefor use in a gas liquid contactor. The nozzle plate includes a plate andan array of nozzles on the plate. The nozzle plate also includes astability unit coupled to the plate. The stability unit is configured toreduce instability of jets formed from the nozzle plate.

Still anther embodiment of the invention is directed towards a method ofusing an enhancer to reduce instability of jets formed from a nozzleplate of a gas liquid contactor. The method includes applying anenhancer to an inlet stream of a gas liquid contactor to reduceinstability of jets formed from the gas liquid contactor. The methodalso includes forming a plurality of essentially planar liquid jets,each of said liquid jets including a planar sheet of liquid, where theplurality of liquid jets is arranged in substantially parallel planes.Further the method includes providing a gas with at least one reactiveor soluble gas phase molecule and removing at least a portion of the gasphase molecules by a mass transfer interaction between the gas phasemolecules and the liquid jets.

Yet another embodiment is directed towards a method of processing gasphase molecules with a gas liquid contactor. The method includes forminga plurality of instable liquid jets, the instable liquid jets include adistribution of drops from an array of nozzles. Gas is provided with atleast one reactive or soluble gas phase molecule. At least a portion ofthe gas phase molecules are removed by a mass transfer interactionbetween the gas phase molecules and the distribution of drops.

Still another embodiment is directed towards a method of processing gasphase molecules with a gas liquid contactor. The method includes forminga plurality of essentially planar liquid jets, each of said liquid jetsincludes a planar sheet of liquid and the plurality of liquid jets arearranged in substantially parallel planes. The essentially planar liquidjets are formed with an aqueous slurry. At least one reactive or solublegas phase molecule is provided and at least a portion of the gas phasemolecules is removed by a mass transfer interaction between the gasphase molecules and the liquid jets.

Still yet another embodiment of the invention is directed towards amethod of separating at least two fluids with an apparatus. The methodincludes heating at least one of the at least two fluids to a partialpressure of the at least one of the at least two fluids. The method alsoincludes removing at least a portion of at least one of the at least twofluids by forming a plurality of essentially planar liquid jets with theat least two liquids, each of said liquid jets comprising a planar sheetof liquid, said plurality of liquid jets arranged in substantiallyparallel planes.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for producing a flat jetaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a nozzle with a feed channelaccording to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a nozzle with a feedchannel according to FIG. 2A along A to A′;

FIG. 2C illustrates a top down view of a nozzle with a feed channelaccording to of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D illustrates a top down view of a nozzle with an individual feedchannel according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a nozzle with a meshaccording to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3B illustrates a top down view of a nozzle with a mesh according toFIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C illustrates a cross-sectional view of a nozzle with a feedchannel and a mesh according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a nozzle with a diverterunit according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4B illustrates a perspective view of a nozzle with a diverter unit,feed channel and mesh according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the nozzle in FIG. 4Balong line B to B′;

FIG. 4D illustrates a block diagram of a distillation system accordingto another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4E illustrates a block diagram of a distillation system accordingto another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5A illustrates an apparatus used in Example 1;

FIG. 5B illustrates an exit side of a nozzle plate used in Example 1;

FIG. 5C illustrates an entrance side of a nozzle plate used in Example1;

FIG. 5D is a photograph of a front view of a jet formed in Example 1;

FIG. 5E is a photograph of a side view of a jet formed in Example 1;

FIG. 6A illustrates an entrance side of a nozzle plate including 24nozzles used in Example 2;

FIG. 6B is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 2;

FIG. 7 is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 3;

FIG. 8 is a photograph of jets formed by various fluids in Example 4;

FIG. 9 is a photograph of jets formed by water and Super-water®according to Example 5;

FIG. 10 is a photograph of jets formed by water and Super-water®according to Example 6;

FIG. 11 is a photograph of side views of jets formed in Examples 5 and6;

FIG. 12A illustrates an exit side of a nozzle plate used in Example 7;

FIG. 12B illustrates a blown-up view of a portion of the nozzle plate ofFIG. 12A;

FIG. 12C illustrates a honeycomb feed channel structure used in Example7;

FIG. 12D is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 7;

FIG. 12E is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 7;

FIG. 13A illustrates an apparatus used in Example 8;

FIG. 13B illustrates a perspective view of a first jet box used inExample 8;

FIG. 13C illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the first jetbox of FIG. 13B along line C to C′;

FIG. 13D is a perspective cross-sectional view of a second jet box usedin Example 8;

FIG. 13E is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 8 withthe first jet box;

FIG. 13F is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 8 withthe second jet box;

FIG. 14 is a photograph of a side view of jets formed in Example 9;

FIG. 15 is a photograph of side views of jets formed in Example 11; and

FIG. 16 is a graph of a sample spectra according to Example 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The invention generally relates to an apparatus, and more particularlyto a stability unit and/or enhancer for increasing the stability ofliquid jets formed from nozzle plates in the apparatus. Another aspectof the invention relates to operating the apparatus at a condition thatreduces the stability of liquid jets, e.g., a droplet generatorapparatus. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to operation ofthe apparatus with an aqueous slurry. Aspects of the invention relate toa gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method and moreparticularly to an array of nozzles configured to produce stable liquidjets.

A performance parameter in liquid-gas contactors is the specific area(cm⁻¹) of the liquid jets formed from gas liquid contactors of theinvention. The specific area is the ratio of the liquid jet totalsurface area to the effective volume the jet occupies. Under normaloperating conditions liquid exits an array of nozzles configured toproduce liquid jets as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaning systemand method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein. However, in operation jetinstability may arise and aspects of this invention are directed towardsreducing the jet instability.

In a preferred embodiment, it is beneficial to maximize the specificarea to increase contact time between the gas and liquid. This can beaccomplished by minimizing the jet-jet spacing, thus tightly packing thenozzles used to generate the liquid jets. In order to take advantage ofthe high jet density, stable jet formation is desired.

In operation it was found that jet instability arises from coupling ofthe formed jet to noise sources, which includes at least mechanicalvibrations, fluid oscillations, nozzle-to-nozzle fluid competition, andgas feed instabilities. These noise sources lead to the accelerateddevelopment of the linear sheet instability which can result in jetdestroying collisions between neighboring jets.

In one embodiment, jet instabilty may be characterized as linear sheetinstabilty. The linear sheet instability may manifest itself as spatialoscillations in the formed jet. If amplitude off the oscillation becomeslarge, this instability becomes important. For instance, when multiplejets are placed in close proximity and the number of jets in theapparatus is increased. The instabilty has been found to cause jets tobreak up due to jet-jet collisions resulting from the linear sheetinstability. To maximize the specific area, the jet-jet spacing isminimized, thus to realize the full potential the linear sheetinstability should be reduced. Moreover, feed oscillations andimproperly controlled fluid feed to the jets may also drive the linearsheet instability causing jets to break up. For example, the feedoscillations may be caused by the pump vanes.

An embodiment of the invention is directed towards a gas liquidcontactor to produce stable liquid jets. The gas liquid contactorincludes a liquid inlet and outlet and a gas inlet and outlet. The gasliquid contactor includes a nozzle plate including an array of nozzlesin communication with the liquid inlet and the gas inlet. The nozzleplate may be in the form of a jet box. The gas liquid contactor includesa stability unit coupled to the nozzle plate configured to reduceinstability of jets formed from the gas liquid contactor. The nozzlesand jet box are described in detail with reference to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor andeffluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

In a preferred embodiment, the stability unit is configured to increaseinstability of jets formed from the gas liquid contactor, e.g.,decreasing the amplitude of the linear sheet instability. In addition,the stability unit may minimize oscillations by properly choosing a pumpvane frequency that can be easily damped out by downstream flowcontrolling orifices or filters.

In a preferred embodiment, liquid feed is configured to flow in adirection substantially above the nozzles, e.g., configured to flow inthe direction of the nozzle exit. The stability unit may be configuredto change the momentum of the liquid inlet, e.g., reduce oscillations inmomentum as oscillations in the nozzle feed momentum result inoscillations in the formed jet. In addition, reduction of external noisesources will also decrease the amplitude of the linear sheetinstability. Mechanical vibrations serve as a driving potential for thelinear sheet instability. The excess energy is coupled into the jets bymechanical oscillations which can affect the feed to the jets, or causevibrations. Both result in adding energy into the linear sheetinstability, leading to jet break up. Therefore, standard vibrationisolation practices can be used to damp the external noise sources.

In embodiments of the invention, the stability unit may include at leastone of feed channels, a mesh, a diverter unit and combinations thereof.The stability unit is configured to reduce jet instability.

The feed channels at least partially surround at least one nozzle in thearray of nozzles. The feed channels are configured to change themomentum of a liquid from the liquid inlet, that is, redirect the flowto be substantially orthogonal to the nozzle inlet, thereby reducinginstability of jets. The feed channels can have a height in the rangefrom about 1 mm to about 25 mm or greater. In a preferred embodiment,the height of the feed channel is in a range from about 8 mm to about 12mm. The feed channels may also be configured in a number of differentgeometric configurations, such as a honeycomb structure. The feedchannels form individual flow channels such that liquid feed is betterdirected into the nozzles and the fluid feed competition betweenadjacent nozzles is reduced/eliminated. This can reduce/eliminate asignificant aspect that creates linear sheet instability.

The mesh may be formed on at least one nozzle in the array of nozzles.The mesh is configured to disrupt the momentum of liquid from the inletwhen directed to a nozzle inlet, thereby reducing instability of jets.In a preferred embodiment, the mesh randomizes or rests the momentum ofthe liquid. The mesh may be arranged directly over the entrance of thenozzle or on top of the feed channel. The mesh may be configured touniform or non-uniform spacing. In a preferred embodiment, the mesh isformed in a substantially orthogonal grid pattern; each grid of thepattern has an open region ranging from about 0.1 mm to about 2 mm. Inanother preferred embodiment, the mesh is a course screen providingabout a 67% obstruction of the nozzle. In other embodiments, the meshmay be configured to provide an obstruction in the range from about 5%to about 95%. In a preferred embodiment, the obstruction is in the rangefrom about 35% to about 75%.

The diverter unit is arranged at an inlet section of at least one nozzlein the array of nozzles and configured to change momentum of the liquidfrom the liquid inlet, thereby reducing instabilty of the nozzle. In apreferred embodiment, each row and/or column of nozzles includes adiverter unit. In an embodiment, the diverter is arranged at an angle inthe range from about 5 degrees to about 85 degrees from the nozzle inletsurface. In a preferred embodiment, the angle is in a range from about20 degrees to about 70 degrees. In a most preferred embodiment, theangle is in a range from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees. It isnoted that the diverter unit may be configured so the angle is 45degrees. The diverter unit may be arranged on feed channels or directlyon the surface of the nozzle. The diverter unit may also be used with orwithout a mesh. Of course, other structures of various geometries mayalso be used to reduce instability of jets.

In other embodiments of the invention the amplitude of the linear sheetinstability can be reduced by either optimizing the jet fluidcomposition and/or by minimizing external noise sources. Thisoptimization of fluid composition may be conducted with or without astability unit. Optimizing the jet fluid composition can reduce theeffect of noise sources on jet formation which drive the linear sheetinstability. The optimization of fluid composition is directed towardsoptimizing jet formation by adjusting the density, surface tension, andviscosity of the fluid composition.

In embodiments of the invention, an enhancer is used as or with thefluid, e.g., sorbent, to increase or decrease at least one of viscosity,surface tension, density and combinations thereof, of the liquid. Theenhancer may include an aqueous solution including a polymer such as alinear macromolecular partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide comprising amolecular weight in a range from about 16 million to about 18 million, aglycol solution in a range of about 1% (w/w) to about 100% (w/w). Otherenhances may include at least one of basic hydrogen peroxide, glycerol,ethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, xanthum gum, cellulose ether,polypropylene glycol, and polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether.

Other embodiments of the invention are directed to increasing fluiddensity. As density increases, the amount of energy required to maintaina given oscillation also increases. Thus, for a constant noise source,increasing the fluid density reduces the linear sheet instabilityamplitude. Similarly, the same effect is achieved by increasing thefluid viscosity. Viscosity is the measure of the resistance of a fluidbeing deformed by either shear stress or extensional stress. As aresult, as the viscosity is increased the stability of the jet isincreased. In the case of fluid surface tension, the smaller the surfacetension the larger the produced jet at a given plenum pressure. Theseeffects have been experimentally verified by using enhancers such asglycol and such as Super-water® as discussed herein.

In a preferred embodiment, Super-water® is used as an enhancer to reducethe instability of jets. Super-water® is an aqueous solution including apolymer obtained from Berkeley Chemical Research, Inc. Morespecifically, the polymer is a linear macromolecular partiallyhydrolyzed polyacrylamide having a molecular weight in a range fromabout 16 to about 18 million. Super-water® is also described in Howells,“Super-Water [R] Jetting Applications From 1974 to 1999”, pp. 1-21,1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein.

However, any chemical as known in the art may also be used to adjustproperties, e.g., density, viscosity, surface tension, of the liquidused to remove containments. Accordingly, the effective chemistry of theinlet liquid should be considered. That is, a variety of liquids havingan effective chemistry may be utilized in the invention and the choiceof liquid depends on the desired operation of the apparatus, e.g.,pollutant removal, gas separation and the like. A listing of possibleliquids with various effective chemistries is described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor andeffluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

Another aspect of the invention relates to operating the apparatus at acondition that reduces the stability of liquid jets, e.g., a dropletgenerator apparatus. The apparatus includes nozzles and is generallydescribed with reference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685,entitled “Gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,”filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as iffully set forth herein. In this embodiment, the apparatus does notinclude a stability unit as generally described herein.

More specifically, the apparatus is operated under conditions to produceinstable jets, rather than stable jets. The instable jets increase atleast the mixing of the liquid and gas in the gas liquid contactor.Typically, the surface area of instable jets would be less as comparedto stable jets due to the size of the droplets formed as the jets breakup. However, as the agitation is increased the mass transfer mayincrease due to saturation, especially when the apparatus is operatedwith fluids having a high mass transfer coefficient. Therefore, it maybe beneficial to operate the apparatus and/or design the apparatus tooperate as a droplet generator for some applications.

A preferred embodiment is directed towards a method of processing gasphase molecules with a gas liquid contactor. The method includes forminga plurality of instable liquid jets including a distribution of dropsfrom an array of nozzles. The method includes providing gas with atleast one reactive or soluble gas phase molecule and removing at least aportion of the gas phase molecules by a mass transfer interactionbetween the gas phase molecules and the distribution of drops.

In an embodiment of the invention, combining operating conditions, e.g.,high plenum pressures with tightly packed array of nozzles, leads tocollisions between jets that generate a distribution of drops. In apreferred embodiment, the distribution of drops is a dense andsubstantially uniform distribution. The droplet distribution includes arange of droplet sizes such as droplets in a range from about 50 μm toabout 2 mm, and a range of liquid partial volumes between 0.5% and 20%.As the plenum pressure increases the velocity of liquid feeding thenozzles increases; this results in competition for water, which leads toinstabilities in the flat jets. The instabilities manifest themselves inthe jets in at least two ways. First, there is a pulsing of the jets,both along the same axis of the water flow and in the transverse axis(nozzle to nozzle competition). Jet pulsing results from high plenumflow rates and leads to competition between adjacent nozzles such thatthe width of a jet may oscillates. The competition can result in avarying the flow rate for an individual nozzle leading to jet pulsing.Second, the development of the linear sheet instability that is presentin these types of jets under optimal conditions is also accelerated.

In another embodiment of the invention, the spacing of the jets is suchthat pulsing, combined with the linear sheet instabilities from eachjet, results in collisions between neighboring jets. These collisionslead to the generation of high velocity, e.g., velocities in the rangefrom about 5 m/s to about 10 m/s or greater. The high droplet velocityresults from the initial high velocity of the jets at the exit of thenozzles, e.g., velocities in the range from about 5 m/s to about 10 m/sor greater. The large droplet velocity coupled with the droplet sizedistribution minimizes the effects of external forces on the droplets,such as forces caused by a gas flow or gravity, leaving the overalldroplet momentum unchanged. Moreover, the droplet velocity is smallenough to provide reaction enhancement due to increased surface area.

In another embodiment of the invention, the droplet generator may beobtained by adjusting at least one of depth of cut (DOC) of the nozzle,nozzle to nozzle spacing, nozzle bank to nozzle bank spacing, operatingplenum pressure; using enhancers that decrease surface tension and/orviscosity, and combinations thereof in order amplify the natural jetinstabilities. For example, as the depth of cut of the nozzle isdecreased the operating pressure to obtain an instability in jet isreduced. Also, as the nozzle to nozzle spacing is decreased theoperating pressure to obtain jet instability is also reduced. As theoperating plenum pressure is increased the velocity of the jet isincreased, and collisions lead to instability of the jets. Enhancersthat decrease surface tension tend to widen jets and therefore tendincrease jet-jet collisions and to amplify the natural jetinstabilities. Finally, enhancers that decrease viscosity tend toincrease the susceptibility of the fluid to being deformed jets andtherefore tend to amplify the natural jet instabilities

In a preferred embodiment, a gas liquid contactor includes a nozzlearray having nozzles with a 0.52 DOC, nozzle to nozzle spacing of about2 mm, nozzle bank to nozzle bank spacing of about 2 cm, and no stabilityunit. The gas liquid contactor and nozzle are further described withreference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gasliquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul.6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein. The gas liquid contactor is operated at a plenum pressure of 15psi or greater to produce instable jets that break up. Preferably,operating at a plenum pressure in a range from about 17 psi to about 75psi and more preferably operating in a plenum pressure range of about 17psi to about 30 psi.

In another preferred embodiment, a gas liquid contactor includes anozzle array having nozzles with a 0.54 DOC, nozzle to nozzle spacing ofabout 2 mm, nozzle bank to nozzle bank spacing of about 2 cm, and nostability unit. The gas liquid contactor is further described withreference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gasliquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul.6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein. The gas liquid contactor is operated at a plenum pressure of 13psi or greater to produce instable jets that break up. Preferably,operating at a plenum pressure in a range from about 15 psi to about 73psi and more preferably operating in a plenum pressure range of about 15psi to about 28 psi.

In still another preferred embodiment, a gas liquid contactor includes anozzle array having nozzles with a 0.56 DOC, nozzle to nozzle spacing ofabout 2 mm, nozzle bank to nozzle bank spacing of about 2 cm and nostability unit. The gas liquid contactor is further described withreference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gasliquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul.6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein. The gas liquid contactor is operated at a plenum pressure of 11psi or greater to produce instable jets that break up. Preferably,operating at a plenum pressure in a range from about 11 psi to about 71psi and more preferably operating in a plenum pressure range of about 13psi to about 26 psi.

Therefore, as the DOC of the nozzle increases, i.e., the nozzledimensions are increased, the amount of plenum pressure required toproduce instability in the jets also decreases. This is due to theincreased velocity of the fluid through the nozzles as the DOC increasesor the nozzle size increases.

In another embodiment of the invention, the gas phase molecules includeat least one of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, ammonia,acid gases, amines, halogens, reduced sulfur compounds, and oxygen. In apreferred embodiment, the gas phase molecules comprise sulfur oxides. Ina more preferred embodiment, the gas phase molecules comprise carbondioxide. The distribution of drops include ammonia, ammonium salts,amines, alkanolamines, alkali salts, alkaline earth salts, peroxides,hypochlorites and combinations thereof. Of course other gas phasemolecules and/or liquids may be used as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor andeffluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

In another embodiment of the invention, jets are formed in the gasliquid contactor when an aqueous slurry is used as the liquid and passesthrough the nozzles. The jets formed with the slurry are stable andessentially planar liquid jets, each of said jets includes a planarsheet of liquid, where the plurality of liquid jets are arranged insubstantially parallel planes.

The gas liquid contactor is described herein or is described as setforth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gasliquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul.6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein. That gas liquid contactor may also include a stability unitand/or an enhancer(s).

Depending on the application of the gas liquid contactor, the presenceof solids may be necessary in order to optimize the chemical reactionand/or the solids may be formed as a by-product of the chemicalreaction. The slurry is an aqueous solution that may include a solidconcentration in a range from about 0.01% (w/w) to about 40% (w/w),which may be necessary to validate jet characteristics when solids areintroduced into the gas-liquid contactor on a case by case basis. In apreferred embodiment, the slurry includes a solid composition in a rangefrom about 0.2% (w/w) to about 30% (w/w). Examples 10-12 examine solidspresent in solution that have been passed through the nozzles. Thesecases range in solid concentration from 0.2% (w/w) up to 30% (w/w). Aslong as the solids are not given adequate time to aggregate or settle,there have been no problems passing them through the nozzles.

In another embodiment, various modifications to the nozzle dimensions oroperating conditions may be made. These modifications may be madedepending on what effect the slurry has on the jet characteristics, suchas the case where the solids act to disrupt the surface tension of theliquid. For example, decreasing a major axis of the nozzle would combatthe effect of expanded jets caused by the disruption in surface tension.Also, decreasing the plenum pressure would also combat the effect ofexpanded jets caused by the disruption in surface tension.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed towards a method ofseparating at least two fluids with an apparatus. The apparatus in thisembodiment is described herein and with reference to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor andeffluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Theapparatus is used as a distillation column. The method includes heatingat least one of the at least two fluids to a vapor pressure of the atleast one of the at least two fluids. The heating can take place in acatch tank, e.g., with a heat exchanger. Next, a plurality ofessentially planar liquid jets is formed to remove at least a portion ofat least one of the at least two fluids. The liquid jets include asubstantially planar sheet of liquid and are arranged in substantiallyparallel planes. To increase separation of the two fluids additionalequilibrium stages can be added for modular scaling. For example, themodularity of the apparatus is discussed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaningsystem and method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is hereby incorporatedby reference as if fully set forth herein.

In this embodiment, the liquid jets may be formed as flat liquid jetshaving a thickness in a range from about 10 μm to about 1000 μm, in apreferred embodiment, the thickness is in a range from about 10 μm toabout 250 μm. The flat liquid jets may have a length in a range fromabout 5 cm to about 30 cm, more preferably a length in a range fromabout 5 cm to about 20 cm. At least one of the flat liquid jets in thearray has a velocity less than 15 m/sec exiting a nozzle and morepreferably, is a range from about 5 m/sec to about 10 m/sec.

In this embodiment, the at least two fluids may include any fluids thatare capable of being separated based on there respective thermodynamicproperties, e.g., vapor pressure, as known in the art. The fluids may becontain a liquid, gas, and/or solid particulates. The fluids may includepaper and pulping condensates, municipal and industrial wastewaters,chemical processes and pharmaceutical byproduct streams

In one embodiment, the fluids may also include a carbonate and anaqueous carbonate. The fluids may include a variety of differentmaterials such as cationic, alkyl, aryl carbamates, alkali, alkalineearth metal, ammonium carbamate, ammonium carbonate salts andcombinations thereof. The fluids may include an alcohol, ammonia, water,sea water, brine, sour water, reduced sulfur and organicsulfur-containing compounds, volatile organic compounds (VOC), andcombinations thereof.

Reference will now be made in detail to an embodiment of the presentinvention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for producing a flat jet accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a gas liquid contactor is generally depicted asreference number 100. The gas liquid contactor includes a liquid inletand a gas inlet. The gas liquid contactor is generally depicted asreference number 100. In this embodiment, a cross flow configuration isutilized, the gas flows from left to right through the contactor 100.Liquid enters the top 102 of the contactor 100 through inlet plenum 104and is forced through the nozzle plates 106 at the top of the contactchamber 108. In this embodiment, a stability unit is coupled to thenozzle plate and configured to reduce instability of jets formed fromthe gas liquid contactor.

Substantially stable flat liquid jets are formed by the nozzles and flowdown through the chamber. The gas flows from left to right in the systemdepicted in FIG. 1 between the parallel jets, where the mass transfertakes place, then through the low pressure drop mist eliminator 110, andon to the exit 112 from the entrance 113. The liquid is collectedthrough an anti splash grid 112 at the bottom of the contactor, treatedas necessary, and possibly recycled. The anti splash grid submodule 112is a grid with apertures shaped to receive the flat jets. The antisplash guard or gas fluid separator is also configured to substantiallyminimize back-splash of liquid in operation. The apertures of the antisplash grid 112 may be angled slightly towards the exits 114 and/or 116of the liquid capture outlet plenum 118 to aid in the exit of the fluidwithout the application of pressure to the fluid. The apparatus mayinclude various modules and the nozzles are described with reference toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquidcontactor and effluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul. 6,2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a nozzle with a feed channelaccording to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2B illustrates across-sectional view of a nozzle with a feed channel according to FIG.2A along line A to A′. FIG. 2C illustrates a top down view of a nozzlewith a feed channel according to of FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C, a nozzle plate is generally depicted asreference number 200. The nozzle plate 200 includes an array of nozzles202 having an entrance 204 and an exit 206. The nozzles are described indetail with reference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685,entitled “Gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,”filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as iffully set forth herein. A feed channel 208 is arranged above each of thenozzles and configured as a stability unit to reduce instability of jetsformed from the gas liquid contactor 100.

FIG. 2D illustrates a top down view of a nozzle with an individual feedchannel according to another embodiment of the invention. In thisembodiment, each nozzle has its own feed channel as set forth with across member 210. Of course other geometric configurations of the nozzlemay also be utilized, such as, a feed channel that is configured tosurround the circumference of the nozzle opening and extend vertically.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle with a mesh according toanother embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3B is a top down view of anozzle with a mesh according to another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3B, a portion of a nozzle plate is generallydepicted as reference number 300. The nozzle plate 300 includes an arrayof nozzles 302 having an entrance 304 and an exit 306. A mesh 308 isarranged above each of the nozzles and configured as a stability unit toreduce instability of jets formed from the gas liquid contactor 100. Inthis embodiment, the mesh is configured to have substantially uniformspacing. The mesh 308 includes a checkerboard pattern and is constructedfrom stainless steel. The checkerboard pattern includes an openinghaving a height of about 0.76 mm and a width of about 0.76 mm. As shownin FIG. 3B the mesh 308 appears as discolored region over the nozzleplate 300. In another embodiment of the invention, the mesh 308 may beconfigured with a feed channel 208 as shown in FIG. 3C.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle with a diverter unitaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a portion of a nozzle plate is generally depictedas reference number 400. The nozzle plate 400 includes an array ofnozzles 402 having an entrance 404 and an exit 406. A stability unit 408is arranged above each of the nozzles and configured as a stability unitto reduce instability of jets formed from the gas liquid contactor 100.In this embodiment, the diverter unit includes a vane at an angle 410 ina range from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees.

FIG. 4B illustrates a perspective view of a nozzle with a diverter unit,feed channel and mesh according to another embodiment of the invention.FIG. 4C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the nozzle in FIG. 4Balong line B to B′.

Referring to FIGS. 4B-4C, a portion of the nozzle plate is generallydepicted as reference number 416. The stability unit in this embodimentincludes a feed channel 208, mesh 308, and a vane 408 of a diverter unitas shown in FIG. 4C. Of course, the vane 408 may be configured in theopposite direction where the flow of fluid is from left to right ratherthan from right to left.

FIG. 4D illustrates a block diagram of a distillation system accordingto an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a traditionaldistillation process to separate two or more components in a liquidmixture is described with reference to three Sections. In addition, theliquid mixture in this embodiment can be derived from petroleumrefining, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemicalprocessing, petrochemicals, fossil fuel power plant and natural gas unitoperations.

Section 1 includes a distillation unit 422, a liquid inlet 424, a liquidoutlet 426 and gas or vapor outlet 428. The distillation unit 422 isoperated at conditions for separating two or more chemicals in a feedstock by their vapor pressure through the application or removal ofheat. That is, the thermodynamic distillation mechanism is known in theart. The distillation unit 422 includes an array of densely packed highsurface area flat jets for enhanced mass transfer between vapor andliquid as discussed with reference to U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/459,685, entitled “Gas liquid contactor and effluent cleaning systemand method,” filed on Jul. 6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein. Vapor stream 428 exits distiller422 to condenser 440. The liquid outlet 426 flows out of thedistillation unit 422 (Section 1) into a catch tank 428 (Section 2)where the liquid is heated to raise the vapor pressure of the componentsthrough a heat exchanger, e.g., a reboiler.

Section 2 is a catch tank 428 fitted with a heat exchanger 434.Referring to Section 2, the catch tank 428 includes a feed inlet 420, afeed outlet 430 to heat exchanger 434, a feed return 432 from heatexchanger and a liquid inlet 426 from Section 1. Feed outlet 430 is sentto a heat exchanger 434 to raise the temperature and vapor pressure ofthe feed where it is returned 432 and recirculated through catch tank428. Energy input 433 to heat exchanger 434 can be in the form of steam,electrical or other forms as known in the art.

Section 3 is a liquid pump 438. Referring to Section 3, the liquid pump438 has a liquid inlet 436 and a liquid outlet 424. The liquid pumprecirculates the feed solution from Section 2 to Section 1.

Section 4 is a condenser 440. Referring to Section 4, vapor stream 428created in Section 1 is condensed and collected as a product in stream422.

FIG. 4E illustrates a block diagram of a distillation system accordingto another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, thedistillation process is described in the context of solvent regenerationand product gas stripping and recovery from a unit operation. In thisembodiment, the stripping process is described with reference to fiveSections.

Section 1 is a rich/lean solvent heat exchanger. Referring to Section 1,the heat exchanger 450 includes stream inlets 448 and 456, and streamoutlets 452 and 454. A product stream 448 from a unit operationcontaining a rich solvent loaded with recoverable gas is passed throughheat exchanger 450 and into outlet stream 452. An inlet return stream456 containing lean solvent with removed gas product from Sections 2 and3 is passed into heat exchanger 450 and into outlet stream 454 for reusein a processing unit.

Section 2 is a stripper unit. Referring to Section 2, the stripper unit458 includes a feed inlet 452, a feed outlet 462 and a vapor outlet 460.Feed outlet 462 is sent to a catch tank 464 in Section 3. The stripperunit 458 includes an array of densely packed high surface area flat jetsfor enhanced mass transfer between vapor and liquid as discussed withreference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,685, entitled “Gasliquid contactor and effluent cleaning system and method,” filed on Jul.6, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein. In this manner, we would expect substantial improvement in theregeneration performance using our flat jet system due to significantlyreduced diffusion distance, a constant renewal of the jet surface andsmall jet exposure time. Vapor product stream 460 exits stripper 458 tovacuum pump 476. The liquid jet outlet 462 flows into a catch tank 464in Section 3.

Section 3 is catch tank fitted with a reboiler. Referring to Section 3,the catch tank 464 includes a feed inlet 462 from Section 2, a feedoutlet 466 to reboiler 468, a feed return 470 from the reboiler. Thereboiler 468 includes an energy input 490 in the form of steam or otherheat additions, to heat the rich solvent to create a vapor stream.Solvent vapor generated in bottom of the catch tank by the reboiler 468serves as a stripping vapor that rises up countercurrently to the downflowing flat jet solvent flow 462 from Section 2. The reboiler 468 alsoincludes a lean solvent output stream 472 to Section 4.

Section 4 is a liquid pump. Referring to Section 4, the liquid pumpincludes a regenerated (lean) liquid inlet 472 from Section 3 and aliquid outlet 456. The lean liquid output 456 is recirculated back tothe heat exchanger 450 in Section 1.

Section 5 is vacuum pump. Referring to Section 5, the vacuum pumpincludes an inlet vapor flow 460 from the Section 2 and an outlet vaporstream 478. The vacuum pump serves to reduce the pressure above theliquid flat jets in Section 2 for lower solvent temperature andequivalent work of stripping the gas from the rich solvent in Section 3.The outlet vapor stream 478 can be collected and utilized for industrialapplications as needed.

EXAMPLES Example 1

In Example 1, a single jet test apparatus was utilized to illustrate howwater exists a nozzle under normal operating conditions. The apparatusis described with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5C, the apparatus is generally depicted asreference number 500 and includes an operating chamber 502, a liquidinlet 504, a fluid exit 508, a gas inlet 513 and gas exit 514. The fluidexit 508 is connected to a recirculation loop and coupled to a pump (notshown) and the fluid inlet 504. A pressure gauge (not shown) is mountedfor measuring fluid pressure in a plenum 509 above a nozzle plate 512.The plenum is a sealed chamber formed above the plate 512 and hasdimensions of 226 mm wide by 28.5 mm tall by 20 mm deep. The nozzleplate 512 includes three nozzle banks 514, 516, and 518. In thisconfiguration each nozzle bank includes three nozzles. In particular,nozzle bank 516 includes a first nozzle 520, a second nozzle 522, and athird nozzle 524. Each nozzle is separated by a uniform distance—thedistance between the first nozzle 520 and the second nozzle 522 is 4 mm.The distance between the nozzle banks 514, 516, and 518 is uniform. Inthis Example, the distance between nozzle bank 514 and nozzle bank 516is about 5 cm.

Each nozzle (520, 522, 524) was formed by cutting a 0.056 inch depth ofcut (DOC) into a tube (not shown). The tube was then cut and laserwelded into a plate thereby forming the plate of nozzle banks. The tubewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 0.90 mm. The nozzleplate was stainless steel material having a thickness of 4.72 mm. Eachnozzle is also formed to have a major and minor axis of 2.67 mm and 1.2mm, respectively. In this Example, nozzle bank 514 and nozzle bank 518were plugged by filling with a bead of wax, i.e., a high melting pointparafin. In addition, in nozzle bank 516, nozzles 520 and 524 were alsofilled with the same wax material, thereby leaving only one nozzle 522operational. The plate 512 was then positioned in the apparatus 500 asshown in FIG. 5A. The liquid plenum 509 is arranged above the plate 512and liquid is configured to flow substantially horizontally across theplate 512. The area ratio between the opening of the nozzle 522 and theliquid plenum is about 1:350.

In operation, the liquid inlet 504 was used to provide tap water atambient conditions to the plenum 509. The pressure gauge had a readingof about 7 psi indicating pressure in the plenum 509. FIG. 5D is aphotograph of a face of a jet formed in Example 1. FIG. 5E is aphotograph of a side view of the jet formed in Example 1.

Now referring to FIGS. 5D and 5E, the water exits the nozzle 522 andforms a flat jet 524. The jet 524 is formed to a length of about 12 cm.This length is measured as indicated by reference number 526. The lengthof the jet is measured from the exit of the nozzle to where the jetrecombines at the bottom. As shown in section 528, linear sheetinstability begins and the jet begins to break up. The breakup length isthe point where the jet begins to break up. The stability of the jet isshown by reference number 530. The instability region is indicated byreference number 532 and becomes important when multiple jets are placedin close proximity as described herein.

Example 2

In Example 2, an array of jets was formed with a test stand apparatus asdescribed in Example 1 with a different nozzle plate. FIG. 6Aillustrates an entrance side of a nozzle plate including 24 nozzles usedin Example 2. Referring to FIG. 6A, the nozzle plate is generallydepicted as reference number 600. The nozzle plate 600 includes threenozzle banks 602, 604, and 606. In this configuration each nozzle bankincludes twenty four nozzles. Each nozzle is separated by a uniformdistance of about 4 mm. The distance between the nozzle banks is alsouniform. In this example, the distance between nozzle banks is about 2cm. In this Example, two of the nozzle banks, 602 and 604, are blockedoff with a high melting point parafin wax. The nozzle banks were formedas described in Example 1 and have 0.056 inch DOC.

Referring to FIG. 6B, in operation, a liquid inlet of the apparatus wasused to provide tap water at ambient conditions to the liquid plenum.The pressure gauge had a reading of about 7 psi indicating the liquidplenum pressure. The liquid plenum flow rate was about 3 cm/s. As shownin FIG. 6B, the jets formed have two regions, a stable region 608 and aninstability region 610. The instability region begins when the jetsbegin to break up due to jet-jet collisions resulting from the linearsheet instability (as discussed in Example 1 and herein). The distanceof region 608 is about 60 mm. Accordingly, the instability region startsat a distance of about 60 mm to about 70 mm. As shown a scale isdepicted as 1 cm squares in FIG. 6B. Also, the liquid plenum flow ratewas increased from 3 cm/s to about 12 cm/s (7 psi plenum pressure) andthe stable jet length was relatively unchanged. Finally, the jets formedin this Example resemble the jets formed in Example 1.

Example 3

In Example 3, an array of jets is formed with a test stand apparatus ofExample 2 with a modified nozzle plate of FIG. 6A. In this Example, 72nozzles were utilized and none of the nozzle banks were blocked. Notethat the nozzles in nozzle bank 604 are interlaced with the nozzles innozzle banks 602 and 606. That is, the nozzles in row 604 are offsetfrom the nozzles in nozzle banks 602 and 606 in order to closely packthe nozzles.

Referring to FIG. 7, a side image of the jets from the 72 nozzle platesare illustrated. In operation, a liquid inlet was used to provide waterat ambient conditions to the liquid plenum. The pressure gauge had areading of about 7 psi indicating the liquid plenum pressure.

As shown, the jets form a stable region 702 and an instable region 704in which the jets break up due to jet-jet collisions resulting from thelinear sheet instability (as discussed in Example 1). Comparing FIGS. 6Band 7, it is shown that the jets from the 24 nozzles break up at adistance greater from the nozzles than the jets from the 72 nozzles.This is due to the 2 mm jet-to-jet spacing of the interlaced nozzlebanks compared to the 4 mm jet-to-jet spacing of a single row.

Example 4

In Example 4, a number of single jets were formed with the apparatus asdescribed in Example 1. In particular, a liquid inlet was used toprovide water at ambient conditions to the liquid plenum. The pressuregauge had a reading of about 7 psi.

Five separate runs were conducted using five different fluids including:piperazine and K₂CO₃ aqueous solution, Na₂SO₄, water, seawater, andglycol as further set forth in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 Jet Width Jet Length Breakup Fluid/Concentration [mm] [mm]Length [mm] Run 1 Piperazine 1.2M 27 220 131 And 1.8M K₂CO₃ Run 2 Water25 217 158 Run 3 Na₂SO₄ 26 195 146 Run 4 Sea Water 26 211 141 Run 5Glycol-[100%] 35 N/A 118

The jet width was measured at the widest portion of the jet. The jetlength was measured from the nozzle exit to the point where the jetrecombined. For jets that did not recombine the length was registered asnot available (N/A). The breakup length was measured from the exit ofthe nozzle to the onset of the linear sheet instability. Referring toFIG. 8 and Table 2 it is shown that fluid composition can also reducethe effect of linear sheet instability.

Comparing Piperazine and K₂CO₃ Aqueous Mixture vs. Water:

As expected little difference is seen between the piperazine and K₂CO₃mixture and water due to similar properties, e.g., densities, surfacetension and viscosity. More particularly, water has a density of 1g/cm³, a viscosity of 1×10⁻³ kg/m/s, and a surface tension of 73×10⁻³N/m. 1.2 M piperazine has a density of about 1 g/cm³, a viscosity of1.6×10⁻³ kg/m/s, and a surface tension of 69×10⁻³ N/m.

Comparing Plant Solution vs. Water:

As expected little difference is seen between the plant solution andwater due to similar densities and surface tension.

Comparing Sea Water vs. Water:

As expected little difference is seen between the sea water and waterdue to similar densities and surface tension. Sea water has a density ofabout 1.02 g/cm³, a viscosity of about 1×10⁻³ kg/m/s, and a surfacetension of about 73×10⁻³ N/m.

Comparing Glycol vs Water:

Glycol has a density of 1.1 g/cm³, a viscosity of 16×10⁻³ kg/m/s, and asurface tension of 48×10⁻³N/m. Notice the glycol jets are significantlywider than the water jets at the same picture. This is due to thedecreased surface tension of glycol compared to water. The density is1.1 times larger than water, the viscosity is 16 times larger thanwater, and the surface tension of glycol is 65% of the surface tensionof water. The flat jets produced with glycol are noticeably wider thanwater at the same plenum pressure. This is due to glycol's smallersurface tension compared to that of water.

In general, the smaller the surface tension the larger the produced jetat a given plenum pressure. Viscosity is the measure of the resistanceof a fluid being deformed by either shear stress or extensional stress.As a result, as the viscosity is increased the stability of the jet isincreased, see FIG. 8. Additionally, if the fluid density is increased,the amount of energy required to maintain a given oscillation isincreased. Therefore, for a constant noise source, increasing the fluiddensity reduces the linear sheet instability amplitude.

Example 5

In Example 5, a number of single jets were formed with water as thecontrol and with Super-water® enhancer at various plenum pressures withthe single jet apparatus of Example 1. In particular, seven separateruns were performed at various plenum pressures as shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Fluid/ Jet Width Jet Length Breakup Concentration [mm] [mm]Length [mm] Run 1-7 psi Water 27 214 140 [100%] Run 2-7 psiSuper-water ® 15  79 N/A [0.3% by vol.] Run 3-9 psi Super-water ® 19 101N/A [0.3% by vol.] Run 4-12 psi Super-water ® 21 121 N/A [0.3% by vol.]Run 5-15 psi Super-water ® 29 183 N/A [0.3% by vol.] Run 6-17 psiSuper-water ® 32 203 N/A [0.3% by vol.] Run 7-18.5 Super-water ® 36 N/A140 psi [0.3% by vol.]

Run 1 was used as a control run and compared to Runs 2-7, which includedSuper-water®. The molecular weight of Super-water® is between 16 and 18million. This high molecular weight polymer stabilizes laminator flowand reduces turbulence. Such an enhancer can significantly increase thestability of formed jets.

FIG. 9 is photograph of jets formed by water and Super-water® accordingto Example 5

Referring to FIG. 9 and Table 3, it is shown that as the liquid plenumincreases the size of the jets formed increases in both length andwidth. Therefore, as observed, jet formation also depends on the plenumpressure, surface tension, viscosity, and density.

Example 6

In Example 6, a number of single jets were formed with water andSuper-water® as an enhancer at various plenum pressures with the singlejet apparatus of Example 1. In particular, separate runs were performedat various plenum pressures as shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Fluid/ Jet Width Jet Length Breakup Concentration [mm] [mm]Length [mm] Run 1-7 PSI Water 27 214 140 [100%] Run 2-7 PSISuper-water ® 25. 148 N/A [ 0.15% by vol.] Run 3-9 PSI Super-water ® 35204 154 [0.15% by vol.] Run 4-11 Super-water ® 43 222 175 PSI [0.15% byvol.] Run 5-9 PSI Super-water ® 36 N/A 137 [0.075% by vol.]

Run 1 was used as a control run and compared to Runs 2-5 usingSuper-water® as an enhancer. Comparing Tables 3 and 4 and FIGS. 9-11, itis shown that less pressure at the liquid plenum is required to formsimilar sized jets as compared to the previous solution, but with largersurface areas. Also, higher liquid plenum pressures are required for allcases compared to water, however, the formed Super-water® based jetsexhibit a higher level of stability. It is also shown that linear sheetinstability in the jet depends on the plenum pressure and jet liquidmake up. It is important to notice that linear sheet instability isreduced for all Super-water® based solutions.

Water vs. 0.3% Super-water® 18.5 psi:

From FIG. 9 (17 psi case), the formed flat jets are seen to have similarsurface areas. The linear sheet instability of the jet formed bySuper-water® is significantly less. This is due to the increasedviscosity, high molecular weight and stabilizing longitudinal structureof the Super-water®.

Water vs. 0.15% Super-water® 9 psi:

From FIG. 9 (9 psi case), the formed flat jets are seen to have similarsurface areas. The linear sheet instability of the jet formed bySuper-water® is significantly less. This is due to the increasedviscosity, high molecular weight and stabilizing longitudinal structureof the Super-water®.

Water vs. 0.075% Super-water® 9 psi:

Linear sheet instability of the jet formed by Super-water® is less. Thisis due to the increased viscosity, high molecular weight and stabilizinglongitudinal structure of the Super-water®. Slightly larger excursionsare seen compared to the flat jets formed with higher concentrations ofSuper-water®

Example 7

In Example 7, an array of jets was formed with a test stand as describedin Example 2. FIG. 12A illustrates a nozzle plate that was used inExample 7. FIG. 12B illustrates a blown-up portion of the nozzle plateof FIG. 12A. The nozzle plate is generally depicted as reference number1200. The nozzle plate 1200 includes four nozzle banks 1202, 1204, 1206and 1208. In this configuration each nozzle bank includes 45 nozzles.Each nozzle is separated by a uniform distance of 4 mm. As shown in FIG.12B, alternating rows of nozzles are interlaced. That is, the nozzles innozzle bank 1204 are offset from the nozzles in nozzle bank 1202 and1206. In addition, the nozzles in nozzle bank 1206 are offset from thenozzles in banks 1204 and 1208. The distance between the nozzle banks isalso uniform at a distance of 20 mm.

Each nozzle was formed by cutting a 0.056 inch deep hole into a tube(not shown), i.e., 0.056 DOC nozzle. The tube was then cut and laserwelded into a plate thereby forming the plate of nozzle banks. The tubewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 0.90 mm. The platewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 6.4 mm. Each nozzlewas also formed to have a major and minor axis of 2.67 min and 1.2 mm,respectively.

FIG. 12C shows a honeycomb feed channel structure used in Example 7. Thehoneycomb feed channel structure is generally depicted as referencenumber 1210 and includes a plurality of honeycomb shaped vanes having adistance 1214 of 14 mm and a distance 1216 of 7.4 mm. Each block of thehoneycomb feed channel structure 1210 has vanes with a height of 15.9mm. The honeycomb feed channel structure 1210 was attached to the nozzleplate 1200 by RTV silicone adhesive. The honeycomb feed channel 1210 wasformed of stainless steel material. This assembled nozzle plate waspositioned in the apparatus of FIG. 5A such that a liquid plenum wasabove the honeycomb structure and water flowed through the honeycombstructure 1210 to enter each nozzle of the nozzle plate 1200.

The apparatus was operated under two conditions. The first conditionincluded supplying water at a pressure of 7 psi without a honeycomb feedchannel structure. The second condition included supplying water at apressure of 7 psi with a honeycomb feed channel structure. Referring nowto FIGS. 12D-12E, it is shown that jet formation is greatly improved byutilizing a honeycomb feed channel structure. As shown in FIG. 12D, theflow of the jets formed follows the flow direction of water. As shown inFIG. 12E, the honeycomb feed channel structure is used to reshape thenozzle liquid feed. This results in vertically formed jets. In addition,the improved nozzle liquid feed reduces the strength of the linearinstability leading to improved jet formation.

Example 8

In this Example, an apparatus as shown in FIGS. 13A was utilized withtwo different jet boxes. The first jet box included nozzles with feedchannels only. The second jet box included nozzles with feed channels, amesh, and a diverter unit with vanes at an angle of about 45 degrees.

The apparatus is generally illustrated as reference number 1300. Theapparatus 1300 includes a chamber 1302, a liquid inlet 1304, and aliquid outlet 1306. The apparatus 1300 also includes a plenum 1308 abovea jet box 1310. The apparatus also includes a gas inlet 1312 and a gasoutlet 1314.

The first jet box 1310 is depicted in FIGS. 13B and 13C. The jet box1310 includes nozzle plate 1316, which includes 50 jet banks. The nozzleplate 1316 includes feed channels 1318 at a height of about 6.4 mm abovethe nozzles. Also, in this configuration each nozzle bank includes 45nozzles. The nozzles are separated by a uniform distance of 4 mm.Alternating rows of nozzles are interlaced as described herein. That is,the nozzles in each nozzle bank are offset from the nozzles in adjacentnozzle banks. The distance between the nozzle banks is also uniform at adistance of 20 mm.

Each nozzle was a 0.056 DOC nozzle. The tube was then cut and laserwelded into a plate thereby forming the plate of nozzle banks. The tubewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 0.90 mm. The platewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 6.4 mm. Each nozzlewas also formed to have a major and minor axis of 2.67 mm and 1.2 mm,respectively. In addition, only the center 20 banks were utilized inthis Example and the rest were covered with flat rubber gasket material,thereby blocking liquid flow from the covered nozzles (not shown).

The second jet box 1320 used in this Example is shown in FIG. 13D.Referring to FIG. 13D, the second jet box is generally depicted asreference number 1320. The second jet box 1320 includes feed channels1322 at a height of about 6.4 mm, and a coarse screen (mesh 1322) havinga substantially uniform square size of about 0.76 mm. The mesh 1324 wasformed from stainless steel and had a wire diameter of about 0.5 mm. Adiverter vane 1326 was utilized at an angle of about 45 degrees. Inoperation, a liquid plenum pressure was 5.3 psi for the jets generated.The pressures were measured with an analog pressure gauge.

FIG. 13E is a photograph of jets formed using the first jet box. FIG.13F is a photograph of jets formed using feed channels, mesh and adiverter unit with a second jet box.

Comparing FIGS. 13E-F, it is shown that the second jet box usingdiverter vanes, screen, and flow channels produces more stable flat jetsthan feed channels alone. That is, the stability of the jets 1328 inFIG. 13E is less stable than jets 1330 in FIG. 13G, e.g., jets 1328break up at a shorter distance from the nozzle than jets 1330.

Example 9

In this Example, an apparatus similar to the one shown in FIG. 13A wasutilized with a jet having no stability unit, i.e., no diverter unit, nomesh and no feed channels. The jet box in this Example included 20nozzle banks where each nozzle bank included 45 nozzles. The nozzle tonozzle spacing was 4 mm; the nozzle bank to nozzle bank spacing wasabout 2 cm.

Each nozzle was formed by cutting a 0.056 inch deep hole into a tube(not shown), i.e., a 0.056 DOC nozzle. The tube was then cut and laserwelded into a plate thereby forming the plate of nozzle banks. The tubewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 0.90 mm. The platewas stainless steel material having a thickness of 6.4 mm inches. Eachnozzle was also formed to have a major and minor axis of 2.67 mm and 1.2mm, respectively.

The liquid plenum pressure was maintained at 7 psi so the only changewas the liquid flow velocity through the plenum. Also, it was observedthat lowering the pressure in the plenum would reduce the liquid flowvelocity, therefore, the resulting jets were longer before theinstabilities began to break them up.

FIG. 14 is a photograph of a side of the jets from Example 9. As shown,in section 1402 the jets have broken up, that is, the jets have brokenup within about an inch and a half of the nozzles. At section 1404 orabout a third of the distance from the nozzle there is no semblance ofthe flat jets, but only drops.

Example 10

In Example 10, a singlet delta oxygen generator was utilized. In thisExample, an apparatus similar to the one described in Example 1 wasutilized. The nozzles have a major and minor axis of 2.2 mm and 0.81 mm,respectively. The nominal operating plenum pressure for the device is 20psi. The nozzle plate includes 25 nozzle banks with alternating 39 and40 nozzles per bank. The nozzle to nozzle spacing was about 3 mm and thenozzle bank to nozzle bank spacing was about 9.6 mm. The apparatus wasalso similar to the one described in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,379,487,which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

A byproduct of reacting chlorine gas (Cl₂) diluted in helium (He) withbasic hydrogen peroxide (BHP, KO₂H) is salt (KCl) according to thereaction:Cl₂+2KO₂H→O₂+H₂O₂+2KCl.Typical reactor operation is near 60 Torr with Cl₂/He flowing into thereactor and O₂/He flowing out of the reactor, with nominal Cl₂→O₂conversion >90%. Standard BHP is m=5 moles/kg KO₂H, and has been reactedwith Cl₂ to <m=1 mole/kg KO₂H in our flat jet reactor (Δm=4), with theproduced KCl staying in the solution as an insoluble salt. The saltproduced in the reaction is the same as the KO₂H used, therefore 298 gsalt are produced per kg BHP in the Δm=4 reaction. However, there was nonoticeable deterioration of the jets during these experiments, even atnearly 30% salt by weight in the slurry.

The slurry formed from the salt in this reaction is the ideal case inthat the salt forms smaller, loosely bound aggregates. The individualsalt crystals are typically small (<200 μm), but can form largerclusters. These clusters are easily broken up by the circulation of theslurry through the pump and/or nozzle orifices. Provided constantrecirculation of the slurry, little to no effect of the salt is seen onthe jets.

Example 11

In Example 11, a single jet test apparatus was utilized to form a singlejet in order to illustrate how a slurry exists the nozzle. This Examplealso tested three separate nozzle plates having different depth of cuts(DOC) being 0.052 inches, 0.054 inches, and 0.056 inches.

The apparatus is described with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C. Referring toFIGS. 5A-5C, the apparatus is generally depicted as reference number 500and includes an operating chamber 502, two fluid inlets 504 and 506 anda fluid exit 508. The fluid exit 508 is connected to a recirculationloop and coupled to a pump (not shown) and the fluid inlet 504. Apressure gauge (not shown) for measuring fluid pressure in a plenum isprovided on the apparatus. The plenum is a sealed chamber formed abovethe plate 512. The plenum has dimensions of 226 mm (wide)×28.5 mm(tall)×20 mm (deep). The nozzle plate 512 includes three nozzle banks514, 516, and 518. In this configuration each nozzle bank includes threenozzles. In particular, nozzle bank 516 includes a first nozzle 520, asecond nozzle 522, and a third nozzle 524. Each nozzle is separated by auniform distance—the distance between the first nozzle 520 and thesecond nozzle 522 is 4 mm. The distance between the nozzle banks 514,516, and 518 is also uniform. In this Example, the distance betweennozzle bank 514 and nozzle bank 516 is about 5 cm.

In this Example there are three separate nozzle plates having a 0.052DOC nozzle plate, 0.054 DOC nozzle plate, and 0.056 DOC nozzle plate.The 0.052 DOC nozzle plate was formed in each nozzle (520, 522, 524) bycutting a 0.052 inch deep hole into a tube (not shown). The nozzles fromthe 0.052 DOC nozzle plate have a major and minor axis of 2.37 mm and0.99 mm, respectively. The 0.054 DOC nozzle plate was formed in separatenozzle plate by cutting a 0.054 inch deep hole into a tube (not shown).The nozzles from the 0.054 DOC nozzle plate have a major and minor axisof 2.53 mm and 1.12 mm, respectively. The 0.056 DOC nozzle plate wasformed in a separate nozzle plate by cutting a 0.056 inch deep hole intoa tube (not shown). The nozzles from the 0.056 DOC nozzle plate have amajor and minor axis of 2.67 mm inches and 1.2 mm, respectively.

The tubes of each nozzle were then cut and laser welded into a platethereby forming the plate of nozzle banks. The tube was stainless steelmaterial having a thickness of 0.90 mm. The nozzle plate was stainlesssteel material having a thickness of 4.65 mm. In this Example, nozzlebank 514 and nozzle bank 518 were plugged by filling with a bead of wax(high melting point parafin). In addition, in nozzle bank 516, nozzles520 and 524 were also filled with the same wax material, thereby leavingonly one nozzle 522 operational. The plate 512 was then positioned inthe apparatus 500 as shown in FIG. 5A. There is also a liquid plenum(not expressly shown) above the plate 512 in which the liquid isconfigured to flow substantially horizontally across the plate 512. Thearea ratio between the opening of the nozzle 120 and the liquid plenumis about 1:350.

Various runs were conducted at different pressures with differentliquids as shown in Table 5.

TABLE 5 Breakup Concentration Pressure DOC Width Length Length [%, w/w][psi] [inches] [mm] [mm] [mm] Na₂SO₄ 10 11 0.052 28 N/A 135 Gypsum 5 110.052 29 N/A 90 Na₂SO₄ 10 9 0.054 28 N/A 146 Gypsum 5 9 0.054 31 N/A 110Na₂SO₄ 10 7 0.056 25 217 158. Gypsum 5 7 0.056 28 N/A 112

FIG. 15 is a photograph of side views of jets formed in Example 11.Referring to FIG. 15 and Table 5. The sodium sulfate solution was usedas a control.

Na₂SO₄ vs. Gypsum—11 psi:

The 0.052 DOC nozzles operated at 11 psi with 5% by weight gypsum formedliquid jets. When compared to the control fluid (NaSO₄) operated at thesame plenum pressure of 11 psi, it is shown that the gypsum solutionproduced wider jets. This is indicative of lower surface tension for thegypsum solution. Additionally, the breakup length of the gypsum issmaller than the break up length of the control solution.

Na₂SO₄ vs. Gypsum—9 psi:

The 0.052 DOC nozzles operated at 9 psi with 5% by weight gypsum formedliquid jets. When compared to the control fluid (NaSO₄) operated at thesame plenum pressure of 9 psi, the gypsum solution produced wider jets,again this is indicative of lower surface tension. Additionally, thebreakup length of the gypsum is smaller than that of the controlsolution.

Na₂SO₄vs. Gypsum—7 psi:

The 0.052 DOC nozzles operated at 7 PSI with 5% by weight gypsum formedliquid jets. When compared to the control fluid (NaSO₄) operated at thesame plenum pressure of 7 psi, the gypsum solution produced wider jets,again being indicative of lower surface tension. Additionally, the breakup length of the gypsum is smaller than that of the control solution.

Therefore, it is shown that unlike the salt of the previous Examples,the gypsum particles tend to aggregate and, given the settling time,form particles large enough to clog jets. Under conditions with littleaggregation time, the jets formed with 5% gypsum were slightly largerthan the control case due to the gypsum reducing the surface tension ofthe water. It was found that the lower the operating pressure for thisslurry, the more closely it would resemble the jets formed with no solidpresent. Moreover, selecting a nozzle that is specific for this type ofslurry will compensate for the wider jets formed when using nozzlesdesigned for solutions similar in surface tension and viscosity towater.

Example 12

In Example 12, an array of jets is formed with a test stand apparatus asillustrated in FIG. 5A. The test stand is generally depicted asreference number 500 and includes an operating chamber 502, a fluidinlet 504, a fluid exit 508 and a plenum 509. The plenum 509 is arrangedabove a nozzle plate 512 forming a sealed chamber over the nozzle plate512. A pressure gauge (not shown) for measuring inlet fluid pressure wasalso utilized.

In this Example, a nozzle plate 600 similar to that shown in FIG. 6A butincluded four nozzle banks compared to the three nozzle banks shown inthe figure was used. The construction of the nozzle plates is similar tothat of Example 2. In this configuration each nozzle bank includestwenty four nozzles. Each nozzle is separated by a uniform distance −4mm. The distance between the nozzle banks is also uniform. In thisexample, the distance between nozzle banks is 2 cm. For the testing allfour of the nozzle banks were run.

In this test, the solution was composed of 0.47 lbs of an unknown sizepost bag house fly ash to water, corresponding to a 0.2% (w/w) mixture.The fly ash was obtained from Colorado Springs Utilities Drake powerplant located in Colorado Springs, Colo. Nozzles with a DOC of 0.053were used in the test. The nozzles from the 0.053 DOC have a major andminor axis of 2.45 mm inches and 1.05 mm, respectively. The plenumpressure was 9 psi, measured by an analog pressure gauge. The test standwas operated continuously for about 1,500 hours. During the extendedtest, no noticeable jet degradation in the jets was observed.

Example 13

In Example 13, a test apparatus was utilized to illustrate vacuumstripping of CO₂ from an aqueous solution of potassium carbonate(K₂CO₃), piperazine (PZ) where PZ is 1,4-Diaminocyclohexane) and CO,reaction products which are presumably piperazine carbamate (PZCOO⁻) andpiperazine dicarbamate (PZ(COO⁻)₂) and their protonated forms undernormal operating conditions. This Example is applicable to postcombustion carbon capture (CO₂ capture) systems that require solventregeneration and CO₂ sequestration from a combustion flue gas.

A single stage apparatus as shown in FIG. 5A was used. In this Examplethe apparatus can be classified as a stripper. The principal componentsof the apparatus included a jet nozzle plate and plenum, a gas-liquidseparator, a liquid feed, and a gas feed as discussed with reference toFIG. 5A, herein.

In this Example, the apparatus was run under a vacuum stripping mode,that is, CO₂ gas was desorbed rather than absorbed from the jets. Thejet nozzle plate used in this Example was designed slightly differentthan that discussed previously and will now be described. A singlenozzle plate was used that was 5 cm in width and 15 cm in length. Thecross sectional entrance channel was 5 cm×14 cm. In this Example fournozzle banks were used, each nozzle bank included twelve rows of nozzlesper row. The nozzle-to-nozzle spacing was about 4 mm. The distancebetween adjacent nozzle banks was about 30 mm. Each nozzle had a nominalmajor and minor axis of 2.67 mm and 1.2 mm, respectively. The liquidplenum above the plate was configured to deliver a uniform verticallyflowing liquid flat jets of 14 cm in nominal length.

The apparatus also included a vacuum system that included a mechanicalrotary vane pump backed by a roots blower to achieve background pressure200 mTorr. An absorption cell fitted with a 10 cm long path length andan FTIR spectrometer was also used to measure desorbed CO₂ and waterabsorbance, partial pressure and fluxes from the jet pack. The totalpressure in the stripper and in the absorption cell were measured using0-1000 and 0-100 Torr absolute capacitance manometers, respectively. Thepressure in the absorption cell was calculated as the average of the twopressures to account for the pressure drop across the absorption cell.

Pressure adjustments in the stripper and optical cell were made byadjusting pressure control valves mounted on the vacuum pump andstripper exit. The absorption cell was connected to the stripper by a1.27 cm O.D. plastic tube. Windows in the absorption cell were kept warmand free from water condensation by a blowing a small flow of heatednitrogen over the absorption cell windows. A small amount of CO₂ servingas a tracer gas was admitted downstream of the stripper to calibrate andmeasure the CO₂ flux from the jet pack. The trace gas was admitted usinga calibrated electronic mass flow controller. The temperature of thesolvent in the stripper was heated and maintained using a recirculatingthermostatic bath. The temperature of the solvent was measured usingthree thermocouples, one at the jet pack, one at the top of the catchtank and one at the bottom of the catch tank.

A simulated rich solvent mixture with a loading of 0.50 mol CO2 per moleof total alkalinity was prepared by combining 5 moles KHCO3 and 2.5moles piperazine with 1 kg of water. This loading was prepared tosimulate a normal operating condition found in a CO2 combustion/flue gascapture experiment. Since the loading of the solvent decreases duringstripping experiments, the solvent was reloaded with additional CO2 tokeep the solvent loading approximately constant. This was done byadmitting CO2 gas into the stripper chamber under atmospheric conditionsand running the recirculation pump to create the flat jets. Theresulting loading was determined by measuring the equilibrium vaporpressure of CO2 and using the equation given by Oyenekan, et al.,Alternative Stripper Configurations for CO ₂ Capture by Aqueous Amines,AIChE Journal, Vol. 53, No. 12, pp. 3144-3154, (2007), which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The partial pressures of the CO₂ and H₂O were calculated by comparingthe rotational line intensities to those in the reference spectra thatwere obtained with calibrated CO₂ and water flow rates. The absorptionspectra of CO₂ and H₂O were measured in the absorption cell at apressure different from the stripper pressure. To calculate the CO₂ andH₂O partial vapor pressures in the stripper, the partial vapor pressuresmeasured in the absorption cell were multiplied by the ratio of thepressure in the reactor to the pressure in the cell:

$\begin{matrix}{{P_{C\; O\; 2}^{reactor} = {P_{C\; O\; 2}^{cell}\frac{P^{reactor}}{P^{cell}}}}{P_{H\; 2O}^{reactor} = {P_{H\; 2O}^{cell}\frac{P^{reactor}}{P^{cell}}}}} & {{{Eqs}.\mspace{14mu} 1}\text{-}2}\end{matrix}$

FIG. 16 shows a sample spectrum of CO₂ stripping data at 60° C. and 23kPa total pressure according to this Example. The measured partialpressure and flow of CO₂ flow desorbing from the flat jet array were1.93 kPa and 0.61 Standard Liter per Minute, respectively. Once the CO,flow and pressure are measured, the mass transfer coefficient, k, fordesorbing from the jets can be calculated using the following equation:J=k×S×(p ^(equilibrium) _(CO2) −P ^(reactor) _(CO2))  Eq. 3

In this equation J is the CO₂ flow, S is the interfacial area (1334 cm²)and the term in the brackets is the driving force. To obtain the masstransfer coefficient in cm/s units the pressure was converted toconcentration units. A mass transfer coefficient of 2.3 cm/s for CO₂desorption from the jets was measured. In operating the stripper assingle stage system, the pressure of desorbed CO₂ was 0.8 of theequilibrium vapor pressure. The data is summarized in Table 6.

TABLE 6 Stripper Pressure   23 kPa CO₂ Vapor Pressure (stripper) 1.93kPa CO₂ flow rate (F₁) 0.61 SLM P/P* 0.81 k, cm/s, using S = 1.3 * 10³cm² 2.3

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of processing gas phase molecules with a gas liquidcontactor, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of liquid jetsfrom an array of nozzles, wherein a first portion of the plurality ofliquid jets comprise a distribution of drops and a second portion of theplurality of liquid jets comprise a substantially flat jet; providinggas with at least one reactive or soluble gas phase molecule; andremoving at least a portion of the gas phase molecules by a masstransfer interaction between the gas phase molecule and the distributionof drops.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution of dropscomprise droplets having a size in a range from about 50 μm to about 2mm.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution of dropscomprises a substantially uniform distribution of drops.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the forming the plurality of liquid jets stepcomprises operating at plenum pressure in a range from about 13 psi toabout 75 psi.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of liquid jets has a velocity greater than 15 m/sec.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the gas phase molecule comprises at least oneof sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, ammonia, acid gases,amines, halogens, reduced sulfur compounds, and oxygen.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the gas phase molecule comprises sulfur oxides.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the gas phase molecule comprises carbondioxide.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas phase moleculecomprises nitrogen oxides.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the gasphase molecule comprises amines.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thegas phase molecule comprises chlorine.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the distribution of drops comprises at least one of water,ammonia, ammonium salts, amines, alkanolamines, alkali salts, alkalineearth salts, peroxides, and hypochlorites.
 13. The method of claim 1,further comprising the step of adding an enhancer to decrease thesurface tension of the plurality of liquid jets.
 14. The method of claim1, further comprising the step of adding an enhancer to increase adensity of the plurality of liquid jets.
 15. The method of claim 1,wherein the distribution of drops comprises an aqueous slurry.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the aqueous slurry comprises a solidmaterial and water in a solution.
 17. The method of claim 15, whereinthe aqueous slurry comprises solids in a range from about 1 (w/w) toabout 20 (w/w).
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the aqueous slurrycomprises particles, wherein the particles have particle sizes up toabout 500 microns.
 19. A method of processing gas phase molecules with agas liquid contactor, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality ofliquid jets comprising a first substantially stable portion including aplurality of substantially flat jets and a second substantially instableportion including a distribution of drops, wherein the plurality ofliquid jets comprises an aqueous slurry comprising solids in a rangefrom about 1 (w/w) to about 20 (w/w); providing gas with at least onereactive or soluble gas phase molecule; and removing at least a portionof the gas phase molecules by a mass transfer interaction between thegas phase molecule and the distribution of drops.